This week I'll be watching Laura Jane Grace belt out some of the most honest songs of her career, as she takes her band Against Me! on a tour across the UK, landing in London for a show at The Electric Ballroom on Wednesday 19th November. In support of the superb January 2014 album Transgender Dysphoria Blues, the album which documented a life-changing milestone for the lead singer as she transitioned from male to female, leaving Tommy Gabel behind, and emerging as the powerful frontwoman of the band she started some seventeen years ago. The London show will mark the end of the band's time in Europe, as the remaining mainland tour has had to be cancelled for logistical reasons. With the in mind, let's hope the London show is one to remember, and that Laura, along with James Bowman, Atom Willard and Inge Johansson, manage to bring the electricity of the album to the live stage, leaving Camden weak at the knees. Support comes from Billy The Kid, and unfortunately for some, the show is sold out.
Also this week, I'll be returning to the Scala in London's Kings Cross to see Trampled By Turtles, which will see the Duluth five-piece playing songs from the summer 2014 album Wild Animals, another beautifully crafted album of rich, foot-stomping Americana, frantic banjos and swooning vocals. Tickets are still available, with support from Scotland's The Dirty Beggars.